Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Nepal (Ratification: 2002)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Bonded labour. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the Kamaiya Labour (Prohibition) Act of 2002.

The Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that the Ministry of Land Reform and Management (MOLRM) is drafting a comprehensive bill entitled Bonded Labour (Prohibition, Prevention and Rehabilitation) Act, which will abolish all types of bonded labour systems and other abusive customs and practices, and will repeal the Kamaiya Prohibition Act of 2002. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it has been implementing rehabilitation programmes targeting freed bonded labourers, with the following results achieved:

• -according to the progress report of the Freed Kamaiya Rehabilitation and Livelihood Development Programme, out of the estimated 32,509 families that were in bonded labour, 27,570 families were enlisted for rehabilitation, of which 26,090 families were rehabilitated, including through economic empowerment and skills development training;
• -the Department of Education has institutionalized a system of extending educational services, through providing scholarships and hostel facilities, to freed Kamlari girls (offering girls for domestic work to the families of landlords). Accordingly, in 2015, a total of 29,787,000 rupees (NPR) for scholarships and NPR5,088,000 for hostels were allocated;
• -a Freed Haliya Rehabilitation Action Plan is being implemented by the MOLRM from 2012, with the objective of ensuring safe and secure housing for freed Haliyas (agricultural bonded labourers); and improving their economic and social condition, including through enhanced access to education and health. Accordingly, out of the estimated 16,953 families who were involved in the Haliya bonded labour system, 10,622 were enlisted for rehabilitation and identification cards were issued to 7,898 families. This action plan provided financial support to 236 families to buy land, 162 families to build houses and 259 families to repair their houses.

The Committee also notes that Nepal is one of the participating countries in the ILO project entitled “A Bridge to Global Action on Forced Labour 2015–19” (the Bridge project) that aims to effectively eliminate traditional and state-imposed forced labour systems and to reduce contemporary forms of forced labour, which are often linked to human trafficking. The Committee also notes, that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its concluding observations of 12 December 2014, expressed its concern that although the traditional bonded labour system (Kamaiya, Haliya and Kamlari) has been formally eradicated and measures have been taken for the rehabilitation of the bonded labourers, many of them, in particular in the western part of Nepal, face obstacles to social reintegration, due to their lack of skills and lack of access to fertile land for cultivation, which leads them to return to their previous employers, by whom they are often exploited (E/C.12/NPL/CO/3, paragraph 18). The Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that all freed bonded labourers are rehabilitated and socially reintegrated, including through the provision of skills development and other income-generating activities. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved. The Committee also expresses the hope that the bill on Bonded Labour (Prohibition, Prevention and Rehabilitation) Act, will be adopted in the near future, requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard and to provide a copy of the Bill on Bonded Labour, once adopted.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25. 1. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the statement of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that the Government should take action to enforce the provisions of the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act of 2007 (Human Trafficking Act) and that the legal framework should be reviewed to ensure that those involved in trafficking and forced labour could be effectively prosecuted and that the punishments were commensurate with the crimes committed. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report on the application of the Human Trafficking Act, the Committee urged the Government to strengthen its efforts to combat trafficking in persons.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it is committed to combating trafficking and therefore has designed and implemented appropriate laws, policies and programmes to combat trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the following measures taken by the Government, in this regard, as indicated in the Government’s report:

• -a ten-year National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons 2011–21 has been adopted, identifying the three main strategies to counter trafficking in persons, namely: prevention, protection and prosecution;
• -the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) has established the National Committee on Controlling Human Trafficking which operates programmes to combat trafficking in persons at the district and local levels, through the district committees and village committees established in 75 districts and 109 villages, respectively;
• -a fast-track justice system which gives priority to hearing cases of trafficking in persons is ensured;
• -the Women and Children Service Directorate established within the Nepal police, and the Women and Children Service Centres established in 39 districts, provide specialized investigation and victim-care services through officers trained in handling cases of trafficking in persons; and
• -ten surveillance centres on national highways and 22 checkpoints along the international border have been established to prevent human trafficking.

The Committee also notes that according to the data compiled from a National Report on Controlling Human Trafficking and Transportation, 2015, published by the MoWCSW, in 2013–14, a total of 185 cases and in 2014–15, a total of 184 cases related to trafficking in persons were registered and investigated. The Government also refers to a case in which, three persons who were found guilty of selling two girls to a brothel were punished with imprisonment for 20 years and a fine, and in another case, a government official was removed from his post for assisting the perpetrators of trafficking in persons. The Committee further notes from the national report submitted by the Government on 6 August 2015, to the United Nations Human Rights Council, that investigation procedures for cases related to trafficking in persons have been incorporated in the training curricula of the Nepal police and training programmes on such procedures were conducted for police personnel, prosecutors and judges (A/HRC/WG.6/23/NPL/1, paragraph 53).

Furthermore, the Committee notes that according to the 2016 report of the National Human Rights Commission on Trafficking in Persons, about 8,000 to 8,500 persons were trafficked between 2014 and 2015. In this regard, the Committee notes that the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in their concluding observations of 15 April 2014 and 12 December 2014, respectively, expressed their concern at the lack of effective implementation of the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act of 2007, and the persistence of trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labour, bonded labour, and domestic servitude (CCPR/C/NPL/CO/2, paragraph 18 and E/C.12/NPL/CO/3, paragraph 22). The Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to prevent, suppress and combat trafficking in persons, and to take the necessary measures to ensure that all persons who engage in trafficking and related offences are subject to thorough investigations and prosecutions. In this regard, it requests the Government to continue taking measures to strengthen the capacities of the law enforcement bodies, to ensure that they are provided with appropriate training to improve identification of the victims of trafficking as well as to ensure greater coordination among these bodies. Noting that the number of convictions made for cases related to trafficking in persons are relatively low compared to the number of such cases investigated, the Committee once again requests the Government to ensure the effective implementation of the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act of 2007 in practice, and to report on the impact achieved, particularly the number of convictions and penalties imposed to persons who engage in trafficking in persons. The Committee finally requests the Government to indicate the measures taken within the National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons, 2011–21, as well as the results achieved, both with regard to prevention and repression of trafficking in persons, and the protection and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking.

2. Vulnerability of migrant workers to conditions of forced labour. The Committee previously noted the ITUC’s communication which outlined migrant workers’ vulnerability to trafficking and forced labour. It also noted the various allegations made by the ITUC, including the Government’s failure to adequately monitor and punish recruitment agencies for failing to comply with their responsibility under the Foreign Employment Act of 2007 (FEA).

The Committee notes the following information contained in the Government’s report regarding the measures taken or envisaged by the Government to protect migrant workers:

• -the adoption of the Foreign Employment Policy (FEP), in 2012, with a goal to make foreign employment safe, organized, decent and reliable. This policy includes provision of specific activities for migrant workers such as providing skills training and pre-departure orientation programmes, extensive dissemination of information regarding the migration process, establishment of structural mechanisms for the protection of female migrant workers and collaboration with various stakeholders to develop inter-country networks to prevent trafficking in persons under the pretext of labour migration assistance;
• -the preparation of a five-year National Strategic Action Plan (NSAP), 2015, to implement the provisions of the FEP, which is currently under cabinet consideration. This document ensures safe, decent and dignified foreign employment, particularly for female migrant workers and contains provisions for specific programmes for socioeconomic reintegration;
• -the implementation of a four-year project entitled “Safer Migration Project”, since 2013, in collaboration with the Government of Switzerland, with the aim of effectively implementing the FEP;
• -the implementation of the UK-funded five-year regional programme, entitled “Work in Freedom Programme”, by the ILO in five districts for prevention of trafficking in persons and promoting safe migration, particularly for women migrant workers in domestic work. This programme has provided departure orientation and pre-decision training to more than 20,000 potential migrant workers;
• -the establishment of 24 migrant resource centres (MRC) by the MoLE, including one at the Labour Village, which is a hub of potential migrant workers, and 18 information and counselling centres in 18 districts, which provide information on authentic recruitment agencies, recruitment process, documentation and safe migration; and
• -the appointment of labour attachés by the Government in 11 countries that receive at least 5,000 workers from Nepal.

The Committee also notes that the Government indicates that the records from the Investigation and Inquiry Section under the Department of Foreign Employment show that the number of complaints from migrant workers registered have increased from 899 in 2012–13 to 1,406 in 2013–14. Moreover, the Committee notes from the report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), that Nepal has signed bilateral agreements and two memoranda of understanding (MoU) for temporary labour migration with the Governments of Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, an MoU was signed with the National Human Rights Committee in the State of Qatar in November 2015, to protect the rights of the Nepali migrant workers in Qatar. The Committee notes however, from this report that there has been evidence of widespread exploitation and abuse by recruiting agencies and brokers in the process of foreign employment, such as: deception – with regard to salary, nature of work, and sometimes even country of destination; and fraud – such as issuing fake medical reports and certificates of orientation training without actually undergoing such training and other irregularities. Hundreds of men and women are victims of such fraudulent activities and a large number of them end up in forced labour situations or are trafficked for labour exploitation. This report further highlights the forms of human rights violations in the context of foreign labour migration, including: passport confiscation by the employers/sponsors; retention of identity and travel documents; withholding of wages; threat of denunciation to the authorities; excessive overtime work; physical and sexual abuse; and isolation. The Committee finally notes from the report of NHRC that the flow of labour migrants was more than 500,000 in 2014–15 and the total number of migrant workers have reached more than 3 million with 2.95 million males and 75,000 females. The Nepalese embassy in Riyadh estimated that there are more than 40,000 Nepali women domestic workers in Saudi Arabia who came in through illegal channels. While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government to protect migrant workers, the Committee notes with concern the continued abusive practices and conditions of migrant workers that may amount to forced labour. The Committee therefore urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that migrant workers are fully protected from abusive practices and conditions that amount to the exaction of forced labour, including through the effective implementation of the Foreign Employment Act to address the exploitative practices of private recruitment agencies. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken in this regard, including information on international cooperation efforts undertaken to support migrant workers in destination countries, and measures specifically tailored to the difficult circumstances faced by such workers to prevent and respond to cases of abuse and to grant them access to justice, as well as to other complaints and compensation mechanisms.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.